DALLAS — The rabbi held hostage for more than 11 hours inside his synagogue took to social media early Sunday — just hours after his rescue — to thank the community for its support and express gratefulness for the peaceful resolution.
“I am thankful and filled with appreciation for all of the vigils and prayers and love and support,” Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker said in a Facebook post. “ ... I am grateful that we made it out. I am grateful to be alive.”
Cytron-Walker was one of four people held captive Saturday inside Congregation Beth-Israel in Colleyville, about 30 miles north of Dallas. All four people were released unharmed after a daylong standoff between a hostage-taker and authorities.
The hostage-taker is dead. Officials identified the man as British national, Malik Faisal Akram, 44.
Colleyville police were called to the synagogue in the 6100 block of Pleasant Run Road about 10:40 a.m., and “observed an emergency situation that warranted evacuation of the surrounding areas,” police said Saturday in a written statement. That evolved into a SWAT operation less than an hour later.
The synagogue was holding its Shabbat service, which began at 10 a.m., when the incident occurred. The service was being streamed live on Facebook, and a man could be heard speaking. At times the man sounded angry and said he was going to die. The livestream was removed from Facebook just before 2 p.m.
Nearly 200 law enforcement officials responded to the synagogue, including the North Tarrant Regional SWAT Team, Dallas SWAT team and the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team, who flew to Colleyville from Quantico, Virginia.
FBI negotiators were in constant contact with the hostage-taker throughout the day, officials said.
By late afternoon, several emergency vehicles — including ambulances, firetrucks and armored police trucks — were staged at Colleyville Middle School, about a quarter-mile down the road from the synagogue.
Shortly after 5 p.m., authorities were seen bringing a man in black yarmulke out of the building.
A loud bang was heard at the synagogue just after 9 p.m. Authorities said that was around the time that the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team breached the building.
Matthew DeSarno, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Dallas office, said at the news conference Saturday night that many details about the incident could not be released yet because of the ongoing investigation.
Officials referred to the hostage-taker as a gunman but did not say whether they had recovered any weapons.
DeSarno added that a “shooting incident” had taken place at the synagogue but didn’t provide other details. He said authorities’ investigation would have “global reach” in the coming days.
Authorities said they didn’t have any information about why Congregation Beth-Israel was targeted.
DeSarno said, however, the hostage-taker was “singularly focused on one issue” that was not related to the Jewish community.
Although officials did not release a motive for the incident, the man could be heard demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani woman who is serving a lengthy sentence for shooting at two U.S. military officers, The Associated Press reported.
Siddiqui’s lawyer denied claims that the hostage-taker had ties to Siddiqui, the AP reported.
Siddiqui is being held at a federal prison in Fort Worth, about 20 miles southwest of the synagogue.
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